Spilt Tea
by Lord Ironwolf
Summary: You never can tell what will set some people off.


Captain Pondsworth sipped his tea and surveyed the tactical display with interest. The engagement with the Chaos task force was going well, but one of the enemy cruisers was closing fast on his ship and he suspected it was going to attempt a boarding action. He sighed, took another sip of tea and settled his thin frame back into the command chair, as calm and collected as if he was waiting for a theatre show to start despite the battering his ship had taken. As was his usual habit, he glanced over the control stations that were arrayed out in a semi-circle in front of him. Being situated slightly below him, he could look over the officers' shoulders and see if there was anything on their screens that was not being transmitted to his master display. Those officers in turn had a similar view of the banks of control stations below them that were manned by the junior ratings and servitors. He had already alerted the crew and made preparations and now waited for the next development. He hoped a boarding wouldn't happen. Boarding actions always made such a mess and he liked a tidy ship. The main view screen was set to track the approaching cruiser and he glanced up at it to check its' progress. Below that screen was the front view port for the bridge. The peaceful depths of space were in direct contrast to the scenes of violence revealed on the view screen.

Commissar Griggs on the other hand hoped very much for a boarding action. He had been pulled from a regiment doing trench warfare for ship duty and really missed being able to kill the Emperors' enemies on a daily basis. It had been several months since he killed anyone and he was beginning to feel the strain. He was a tall powerfully built man that really enjoyed the violent aspects of his job.

The Chaos cruiser continued to close despite the damage it was taking. Its shields had been battered down and some structural damage was evident, but it wasn't being slowed down any. Soon it approached to point blank range and unleashed a devastating volley that brought down the shields of Pondsworth's ship. Captain Pondsworth listened carefully to the damage reports and as he feared, reports of hit and run teleport attacks started to be reported to the bridge. Just as the first officer started to dispatch anti-boarding parties to the threatened locations, the air on the bridge started to shimmer at various points and Chaos Marines materialized.

Commissar Griggs and the bridge security teams responded immediately and engaged them. The entire bridge instantly filled with bolter and shotgun fire. Some of the Marines turned to face them while others gave their full attention to destroying control stations and anyone manning them. The security team followed their standard drill and formed a firing line and blasted concentrated fire at whichever marine was closest. Space Marines are justly famed for being hard to bring down, but a dozen combat shotguns firing on semi-auto at point blank range made slow, but sure work of them. Commissar Griggs emptied his bolt pistol as he charged and killed two of the marines that were destroying consoles. He discarded the empty weapon as a chainaxe wielding marine met his charge. It was all happening within seconds and even though the marines were being killed, they were still completing their mission. The number of ruined, smoking and sparking control stations with butchered operators was beginning to outnumber those that still worked.

Captain Pondsworth stood up and was about to give orders when a stray bolter shot struck his tea mug and destroyed it completely, except for the handle which he still clung to. Time virtually stopped for Pondsworth as he stared in disbelief at the handle of his tea mug. Then his vision hazed over in red as he stabbed a button on his command chair. A panel snapped opened and he reached inside.

The First Officer saw what happened and leapt to the damage control station, slamming down a switch and yelled into the comlink, "CODE OMEGA-FOX! Repeat. CODE OMEGA-FOX!"

Commissar Griggs had crossed chainsword with chainaxe in a test of strength and was slowly losing. With the buzzing axe teeth getting closer to his face, he realized _exactly_ what people meant when they said be careful what you wish for. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a plasma shot coming over his shoulder and directly into the Chaos Marines' face. He turned to thank the shooter and stopped dead at the sight of the apparition in front of him. It looked vaguely like Captain Pondsworth except for the half unbuttoned tunic, the white knuckle grip on the plasma pistol and power sword, the disheveled hair, and the expression of blind rage. All doubt was removed however, when the figure shouted; "My TEA MUG!"

Three more shots rapidly followed the first one and three more Chaos Marines lost their heads in small clouds of super heated plasma and flash cooked flesh. A shrill warning note sounded from the pistol and Pondsworth threw it at the last remaining enemy. The marine turned from the console and servitor he was ripping apart to see the pistol flying at him. He batted the pistol aside with his power claw but unfortunately that was the last straw for the plasma containment bottle. Both the pistol and the claw disappeared in a blinding flash. The marine looked up from the stump of his left arm in time to see a maniacal scarecrow leaping through the smoky air at him swinging a power sword over his head. He jerked backward but that only meant he was not split in two, instead he was laid open from collar to codpiece like some kind of game animal. As he died, he thought he heard someone screaming something about a teacup.

Pondsworth turned to look for more enemies to destroy but was instead met by his First Officer holding a mug of tea in front of him like a shield. "Omega Fox" The red haze lifted as he focused on the mug. He reached out, took it and drank from it. Captain Pondsworth was back. On the way back to his command chair, stepping over and around bodies, he straightened his clothes, combed his hair and did all the necessary things to return to his normal state of primness. Back in his chair he proceeded to give orders in his usual fashion, not acknowledging that anything unusual had happened.

Commissar Griggs unconsciously gave the Captains chair a wide berth and came up to the First Officer, "You have a crisis code for a broken tea mug?"

The first officer looked pointedly at the gutted Chaos Marine bleeding out on the deck, "Damn right I do, sir."


End file.
